Assuming we miss out on the Darren Williams and Dwight Howard sweepstakes, are there any quality young players who are undervalued, yet primed for Lowryesque development, that also happen to be unrestricted free agents? Ironically, at PG, Dragic is the best option. At SG, SF, and PF there is litterally no one who fits the above description. And at center the only option i see is Omar Asik. Am i being to harsh in my judgements? Once you get beyond the restricted free agents and team options, there just doesn't seem to be much young quality in free agency this year. It appears that it's a great year for teams looking for veterans to put them over the top, but a bad year for teams in Houston's situation, that need to build through free agency. All the more reason for the Rockets to concentrate on the upcoming draft. See below 2012 free agency options: Point Guard (name, team – 2011-12 salary – status) Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets – $16.4 million – Player Option ($17.8 million) Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder – $5.1 million – Restricted ($6.7 million Qualifying Offer) Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers – $1.7 million – Team Option ($2.7 million) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns – $11.7 million – Unrestricted Raymond Felton, Portland Trail Blazers – $7.6 million – Unrestricted Kirk Hinrich, Atlanta Hawks – $8.0 million – Unrestricted Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks – $8.6 million – Unrestricted Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets – $7.8 million – Unrestricted Chauncey Billups, L.A. Clippers – $2.0 million – Unrestricted Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic – $7.8 million – Player Option ($7.8 million) Toney Douglas, New York Knicks – $1.1 million – Team Option ($2.1 million) D.J. Augustin, Charlotte Bobcats – $3.2 million – Restricted ($4.4 million Qualifying Offer) Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks – $10.7 million – Unrestricted George Hill, Indiana Pacers – $2.1 million – Restricted ($3.1 million Qualifying Offer) Jordan Farmar, New Jersey Nets – $4.0 million – Player Option ($4.3 million) Leandro Barbosa, Toronto Raptors – $7.6 million – Unrestricted Beno Udrih, Milwaukee Bucks – $7.0 million – Player Option ($7.4 million) Goran Dragic, Houston Rockets – $2.1 million – Unrestricted* Jerryd Bayless, Toronto Raptors – $3.0 million – Restricted ($4.2 million Qualifying Offer) Derek Fisher, L.A. Lakers – $3.4 million – Player Option ($3.4 million) Randy Foye, L.A. Clippers – $4.3 million – Unrestricted Mo Williams, L.A. Clippers – $8.5 million – Player Option ($8.5 million) Jonny Flynn, Houston Rockets – $3.4 million – Team Option ($4.3 million) Keyon Dooling, Boston Celtics – $2.2 million – Unrestricted Greivis Vasquez, New Orleans Hornets – $1.1 million – Team Option ($1.2 million) Ishmael Smith, Golden State Warriors – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Ramon Sessions, Cleveland Cavaliers – $4.3 million – Player Option ($4.6 million) Armon Johnson, Portland Trail Blazers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Sundiata Gaines, New Jersey Nets – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* A.J. Price, Indiana Pacers – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* Baron Davis, New York Knicks – $1.4 million – Unrestricted Royal Ivey, Oklahoma City Thunder – $1.2 million – Unrestricted John Lucas, Chicago Bulls – $0.9 million – Unrestricted Shooting Guard(name, team – 2011-12 salary – status) Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornets – $3.8 million – Restricted ($5.1 million Qualifying Offer) O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies – $5.6 million – Restricted ($7.4 million Qualifying Offer) Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers – $5.0 million – Team Option ($5.3 million) Gerald Henderson, Charlotte Bobcats – $2.3 million – Team Option ($3.1 million) Ray Allen, Boston Celtics – $10.0 million – Unrestricted Landry Fields, New York Knicks – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Carlos Delfino, Milwaukee Bucks – $3.5 million – Unrestricted Louis Williams, Philadelphia 76ers – $5.2 million – Early Termination Option ($5.4 million) Mickael Pietrus, Boston Celtics – $1.2 million – Unrestricted Courtney Lee, Houston Rockets – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer) Rudy Fernandez, Denver Nuggets – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer) Xavier Henry, Memphis Grizzlies – $2.2 million – Team Option ($2.3 million) Damion James, New Jersey Nets – $1.2 million – Team Option ($1.3 million) C.J. Miles, Utah Jazz – $3.7 million – Unrestricted Terrence Williams, Houston Rockets – $2.4 million – Team Option ($3.1 million) Jodie Meeks, Philadelphia 76ers – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* James Anderson, San Antonio Spurs – $1.5 million – Team Option ($1.6 million) Matt Carroll, Charlotte Bobcats – $3.9 million – Early Termination Option ($3.5 million) Brandon Rush, Golden State Warriors – $3.0 million – Restricted ($4.1 million Qualifying Offer) Jannero Pargo, Atlanta Hawks – $1.1 million – Unrestricted Alonzo Gee, Cleveland Cavaliers – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* Small Forward(name, team – 2011-12 salary – status) Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets – $4.2 million – Restricted ($5.6 million Qualifying Offer) Gerald Wallace, Portland Trail Blazers – $10.5 million – Player Option ($10.5 million) Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer) Chase Budinger, Houston Rockets – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* Sam Young, Memphis Grizzlies – $0.9 million – Unrestricted* Matt Barnes, L.A. Lakers – $1.9 million – Unrestricted Andres Nocioni, Philadelphia 76ers – $6.7 million – Team Option ($7.5 million) Anthony Tolliver, Minnesota Timberwolves – $2.1 million – Unrestricted Donte’ Greene, Sacramento Kings – $2.0 million – Restricted ($3.0 million Qualifying Offer) Bill Walker, New York Knicks – $0.9 million – Unrestricted Devin Ebanks, L.A. Lakers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Dahntay Jones, Indiana Pacers – $2.7 million – Player Option ($2.9 million) Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Power Forward(name, team – 2011-12 salary – status) Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves – $4.6 million – Restricted ($6.1 million Qualifying Offer) Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics – $21.2 million – Unrestricted Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – $21.2 million – Unrestricted Michael Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves – $6.3 million – Restricted ($8.2 million Qualifying Offer) Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics – $4.3 million – Player Option ($4.3 million) J.J. Hickson, Sacramento Kings – $2.4 million – Restricted ($3.4 million Qualifying Offer) Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers – $17.1 million – Early Termination Option ($18.2 million) Antawn Jamison, Cleveland Cavaliers – $15.1 million – Unrestricted Jason Thompson, Sacramento Kings – $3.0 million – Restricted ($4.1 million Qualifying Offer) Marreese Speights, Philadelphia 76ers – $2.8 million – Restricted ($3.8 million Qualifying Offer) Ryan Anderson, Orlando Magic – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer) D.J. White, Charlotte Bobcats – $2.0 million – Restricted ($3.0 million Qualifying Offer) Patrick Patterson, Houston Rockets – $2.0 million – Team Option ($2.1 million) Anthony Randolph, Minnesota Timberwolves – $2.9 million – Restricted ($4.0 million Qualifying Offer) Ronny Turiaf, Washington Wizards – $4.4 million – Unrestricted Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats – $9.0 million – Unrestricted Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks – $2.5 million – Unrestricted Darrell Arthur, Memphis Grizzlies – $2.0 million – Restricted ($3.0 million Qualifying Offer) Louis Amundson, Indiana Pacers – $2.4 million – Unrestricted Jason Maxiell, Detroit Pistons – $5.0 million – Player Option ($5.0 million) Jordan Hill, Houston Rockets – $2.9 million – Team Option ($3.6 million) Craig Brackins, Phildelphia 76ers – $1.4 million – Team Option ($1.5 million) Chris Johnson, Portland Trail Blazers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Derrick Caracter, L.A. Lakers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Austin Daye, Detroit Pistons – $1.9 million – Team Option ($3.0 million) Brian Cook, L.A. Clippers – $1.3 million – Unrestricted Ian Mahinmi, Dallas Mavericks – $0.9 million – Unrestricted Luke Harangody, Cleveland Cavaliers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Center (name, team – 2011-12 salary – status) Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic – $18.1 million – Early Termination Option ($19.5 million) Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers – $2.6 million – Restricted ($3.7 million Qualifying Offer) Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers – $14.9 million – Team Option ($16.1 million) Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets – $3.1 million – Restricted ($4.2 million Qualifying Offer) Chris Kaman, New Orleans Hornets – $12.7 million – Unrestricted Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons – $3.0 million – Team Option ($3.2 million) JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards – $2.5 million – Restricted ($3.5 million Qualifying Offer) Marcus Camby, Portland Trail Blazers – $12.9 million – Unrestricted Robin Lopez, Phoenix Suns – $2.8 million – Restricted ($4.0 million Qualifying Offer) Jermaine O’Neal, Boston Celtics – $6.2 million – Unrestricted Nazr Mohammed, Oklahoma City Thunder – $3.8 million – Unrestricted Omer Asik, Chicago Bulls – $1.9 million – Unrestricted* Semih Erden, Cleveland Cavaliers – $0.8 million – Unrestricted* Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons – $2.2 million – Unrestricted Mehmet Okur, New Jersey Nets – $10.9 million – Unrestricted Daniel Orton, Orlando Magic – $1.1 million – Team Option ($1.2 million) Solomon Alabi, Toronto Raptors – $0.8 million – Team Option ($0.9 million) Hasheem Thabeet, Houston Rockets – $5.1 million – Team Option ($6.5 million) Kosta Koufos, Denver Nuggets – $2.2 million – Restricted ($3.2 million Qualifying Offer) DeSagana Diop, Charlotte Bobcats – $6.9 million – Player Option ($7.4 million) Ryan Hollins, Cleveland Cavaliers – $2.5 million – Unrestricted
Well your criteria are why you're not finding anyone. A young player can only be an unrestricted FA if he's a 2nd rounder or a 1st round bust (team didn't exercise 4th yr option). Otherwise they're already two contacts into their NBA career and presumably aren't going to be having any breakout seasons.
Go for Eric Gordon and Nic Batum. though it will be tough assuming their teams match any offers. Go all in for a trade for James Harden if you can.
Eric Gordon, Omer Asik, Roy Hibbert are some guys on there I think you would have to pay top dollar, but that could be worthy of the investment. Will Indiana really want to give Hibbert 10+ million a year. Some team will.
Hopefully for the Blazers, Batum will be signing long-term very shortly and won't be on the market. This is true for several of the worthwhile 2012 RFAs above like Kevin Love. Redo this after January 25th.
so bascially we have to build through trade and through the draft. I wonder, to the extent that we believe our chances of getting a DWill or Howard are virtually nil, whether that allows us to take back a bloated contract through the 2012/2013 season, and improve our chances of getting an impact player from a team in need of salary relief. We certainly aren't going to use our cap in this year's free agency.
Why not? Nene signed, what, a 5 year, $67 million contract. You can argue that Nene's presence can't be gauged 100% statistically, but nonetheless, statistically, Hibbert is the better player. He seems to always start the season strong, but nonetheless, 15 points, 10 boards, a 55% fg percentage, 1.2 blocks in 30 minutes per game is nice. All THAT said, it's hard to imagine how any of the FA outside the big two make the Rockets meaningfully better... they still need an all-star, or two.
but they're all restricted free agents. I just assume write them off because all their teams are sure to match any offers. Sure, we could make a absurdly ridiculious offer, but how would that help Houston? Basically those guys are not real options for us.
Daryl Morey once stated that free agency is not the best way to team build... 1. Draft 2. Trade 3. Free Agency
Unfortunately, your list will have to shrink further. That list incorrectly labels several potential restricted free agents as unrestricted. Any player with three years of experience or less can be made a restricted free agent if his team extends a qualifying offer (except for guys on first round rookie scale deals whose options are not exercised, like Hasheem Thabeet is destined to be). That includes most of the young guys listed as "unrestricted" above. Trust me, if Omer Asik was truly an unrestricted free agent (he won't be), you better believe that the Rockets would be all over him. They still might, since Chicago is paying Rose, Boozer, Noah and Deng each eight-figure annual salaries and may not be able to afford to keep Asik; but you can be damn sure that the Rockets will need to either overpay for Asik or work a S&T with Chicago if they want to assure that they get him.
As far as unrestricted free agents who could break out go, Ian Mahinmi is the one who jumps out at me.
can someone remind me who and why we traded nicolas batum again? I completely forgot and its bothering me. Thanks
And we also got a 2nd round pick in 2009 from Memphis which was traded back to the Grizzlies along with Steve Francis for a 2011 2nd round pick.
The Rockets had a deal in place to draft Nicolas Batum at #25 FOR PORTLAND in exchange for the #27 and #33 picks. Morey later flipped #27 for #28 and a future (high) second rounder. The Rockets selected Donte Greene at #28 and Joey Dorsey at #33. Donte Greene was then packaged with Bobby Jackson a few weeks later as the principal component in the Ron Artest deal. They used the second rounder to dump Steve Francis's salary and avoid the luxury tax, which helped prompt Les to buy three second rounders the following year, the THIRD of which was Chase Budinger. For those frustrated with the Rockets "trading" Batum, think of it this way: (1) The Rockets didn't select Batum. Portland did. The Rockets liked Batum but figured that Greene was just as good and got two high second rounders on top of him. (2) Without trading that pick, Ron Artest is never a Rocket. (3) Without Ron Artest becoming a Rocket, there's no first round playoff win over Portland and near upset of the Lakers in 2009. (4) Without the resulting maneuvers enabled by that Batum trade, there is most likely (yes, I said MOST LIKELY) no Chase Budinger in a Rockets uniform. Hope that explains what happened and why people should just shut the hell up about it.
